Love —. “REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ¢~ OFFICE OF THE CITY PROSECUTOR PASAY CITY ' ELLA E. VALENCERINA Complainant, = versus - 1.8, Nos. 08-K-5152-54 For: Violation of R.A. 4200 {Anti-Wiretapping Act) MA. ANGELITA A. RESSA, ET. AL. Respondents. MEMORANDUM Respondents Cecilia L. Lazaro, Ma. Concepcion Cruz, Darlene Menese, Celery Aganon, Bernardo Cast, Denor Alindogan, Jonathan Catubay, Desiderio Ladra, Rodrigo Aceron, Katrina Angela R. Macapagal and Maricris A. Sison’, by counsel, respectfully submit this Memorandum and state: The Facts 1. Probe is a news magazine television program which airs on ABS- CBN channel 2 every Wednesday night after the news program Bandila.” A hallmark of Probe is that it features stories on the current, often controversial, issues affecting Filipinos today, presented in a fair, independent and objective manner.? 2. In November 2008, Probe decided to produce a feature or episode on the Premium-Based Policy implemented by the Government Service Insurance System ("GSIS"). Under this policy, entitlement to GSIS benefits are based on the actual premium payments made instead of the length of service of the goverment. employee concemed. Certain public school teachers-GSIS members complained that this policy had unfairly deprived them of the benefits that they were entitled to, through no fault of their own as they had no control over the regularity of their premium payments. This was because such payments * Respondents Lazaro, Cruz, Menese, Aganon, Castil, Alindogan, Catubay, Ladra, Aceron, Macapagal and Sison are collectively referred to es the "Probe Respondents”. ? Respondent Lazaro's Counter-AMffidavit, par. 3. * See Respondent Lazaro's Rejoinder Affidavit, par. 2.were not made by them directly but by the Department of Education, through deductions from their monthly salaries.* In this connection, Probe Productions, Inc. (‘Probe Productions’)*, through respondent Menese,® sent a letter dated November 6, 2008 to Mr. Winston Garcia’, the President and General Manager of GSIS, offering him and GSIS the opportunity to explain their side regarding the Premium-Based Policy which was the subject of the forthcoming story in Probe. This was done in keeping with Probe's longstanding policy of being fair to all concerned and out of an equally longstanding belief that the best way to get to the truth is to listen to all parties to an issue before writing and producing the story. This is an obligation owed by the officers and staff of Probe Productions not just to themselves, but more importantly, to the parties they deal with and the public they seek to inform. Having made this a hallmark of Probe's journalistic practice has helped it earn a reputation for faimess and objectivity.® 3. A patty offered the opportunity to explain its side may or may not choose to take advantage of it. And a party declining to give Probe its side of an issue may do so in any number of ways. It may simply refuse to respond to the letters and calls made by representatives of Probe Productions, and silently ignore all their efforts to contact it. Or it may choose to respond by saying “no ‘comment’ or ‘we prefer not to be interviewed” and leave it at that. But sometimes a party declining to discuss the merits of a controversy will go out of its way to explain its reasons for refusing to do so.® Alll these choices were available to GSIS. And GSIS opted not only to respond to the letter and calls made by representatives of Probe Productions and to tell them it preferred not to be interviewed, but it also chose to explain, despite the absence of any obligation to do so, why it did not want to be interviewed. Indeed, GSIS_did_more than just explain its decision to Probe Productions; it even went as far as to request Probe—in case it continued with the story despite “ Probe featured the issues surrounding the GSIS’s Premium-Based Policy in a segment of its November 12, 2008 episode entitled “Perwisyong Benepisyo". The Probe Respondents submitted a copy of the Segment in DVD format and 2 transcript of the segment, as Annexes 3 and 4 of their Submission (Re: Motion to Produce dated February 5, 2009) dated February 24, 2009 (the "Submission’) 5 Probe Productions is the producer of the television program Probe. © Respondent Menese is a production assistant in Probe Productions (respondent Menese’s: Rejoinder Affidavit, par. 5). TA copy of this letter is attached to respondent Lazaro's Counter-Affidavit as Annex 1. ® Respondent Lazaro’s Rejoinder Affidavit, par. 2. ® Respondent Lazaro’s Rejoinder Affidavit, par. 3.GSIS's silence regarding the controversy—to tell the Probe viewers the reasons it. gave Probe Productions for refusing to be interviewed. In short, GSIS asked Probe to explain to the public its reasons for not wanting to be interviewed regarding its own Premium-Based_ Policy. Apparently, the GSIS's management did not want the public to think that the GSIS, a publicly accountable Government institution subject to constitutional public access to information requirements, was acting unjustifiably and irresponsibly when it refused to be interviewed about its Premium-Based Policy in the face of mounting complaints from its teacher-members."° 4, Iwas in this connection that the GSIS appointed the complainant, Ella Valencerina ("Valencerina’) as its spokesperson, and it was obviously for this purpose that, in that capacity and as GSIS's Vice President and highest ranking officer in charge of the GSIS's Public Relations and Communications Office, she wrote Probe Productions her November 7, 2008 letter'® which said: PASEGURUHAN NG MGA NAGLILINGKOD SA PAMAHALAAN (GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM) Financial Center, Pasay City, Metro Manila 1306 7 November 2008 DARLENE MENESE Probe Productions, Inc. Dear Ms. Menese: We would like to thank Probe Productions for seeking to air the side of the GSIS regarding the premium-based policy, as part of its segment on teachers’ concerns scheduled to be shown on November 12, ‘However, we have apprehensions on aranting your request for an_on- camera interview regarding the matter because based from experience, most _of the news reports aired in Lopez-owned media entities were biased against the GSIS._In fact, all our written protests on this biased reporting sent to Lopez media groups consistently fell on deaf ears. We cannot also understand why this topic is being dragged into the limelight again, more than half a decade after the GSIS first implemented the policy. The premium-based policy has already been extensively explained in different members’ fora and the media. In addition, we are continuously releasing different information materials on the issue to our members. Should you decide to still pursue the topic on premium-based policy, we hope you can show this letter as our official position on declining your request. *° Respondent Lazaro’s Rejoinder Affidavit, par. 4. **A copy of this leter is attached to respondent Lazaro's Counter-Affidavit as Annex 2.